Topological Insulators Boost Spintronic Devices

A team of international scientists has demonstrated a new method to control the surface electronic states of topological insulators (TIs), which points to their potential for use in energy-efficient spintronic devices.

The research, which was carried out at the York-JEOL Nanocentre by physicists from the University of York, UK; the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and the University of Cadiz, Spain, investigated the electronic properties of ultra-thin films of new materials -- TIs. The study is reported in the journal Nature Physics.

Topological insulators are new materials with surfaces that host a new quantum state of matter and are insensitive to contaminants, defects, and impurities. Surface electrons in TIs behave like massless Dirac particles in a similar way to electrons in graphene. Moreover, surface currents in topological insulators also preserve their spin orientation and coherence on a macro scale.

“These inherent properties of TIs, and the interplay between magnetism and proximity to superconductors, make topological insulators a prime platform for the realization of solid state quantum computing devices," explained Vlado Lazarov of York’s Department of Physics. “The ability to control the surface electronic state of the TIs is a crucial step in realising their potential in energy efficient devices. Through our research, we have shown that it is possible to tune the properties using strain.”

Using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy at UW-Milwaukee and aberration corrected Transmission Electron Microscopy at the York-JEOL Nanocentre, the researchers demonstrated that tensile strain can lift the topological order, while compressive strain can shift in energy the characteristic Dirac point.

Professor Lian Li, from UW-Milwaukee, said, "Using these advanced microscopes, we examined the low-angle tilt grain boundaries in Bi2Se3(0001) films and found that they consist of arrays of alternating edge dislocation pairs."

Along the boundary, these dislocations introduce different types of strain compressive and tensile.

"Through further tunnelling spectroscopy measurements and quantum mechanical calculations, we discovered that Dirac states are enhanced under tensile strain and destroyed under compressive strain," explained Prof. Li. "These findings suggest new ways to control TIs electronic properties, for example, by applying stress.”